Thursday was his last full day with us, but good-byes had to come early. John said bye to Rick early in the morning before work. Rick and John were very close and I thought that John might cry, but he didn't. I guess when you have to say good-bye as much as John has, you just learn not to cry. We spent the morning picking up the house and doing some last minute packing. All 5 of my kids had a dentist appointment that day. (I know, horrible planning... but getting 5 kids to the dentist is a nightmare to reschedule!) John was very good at the dentist! We were there for just over 2 hours, but he watched the movies and played his ipad. We got Wendy's for lunch, and he played a little bit with the kids.
Then came the time to say good-bye to all the kids so we could make the trip to Nashville. I think John was ready to get the show on the road, because he was in the car and ready! The kids came out to say good-bye to him. I have realized that John just removes himself and avoids talking when he is starting to get upset. The good-byes were short, and we were on our way to Nashville. We stayed with my brother and his wife, and they got KFC for John's last dinner in the States. John was happy!
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| Ready to go! |
John wanted to explore the house, imagine that. He thought my brother's dogs were crazy (they are) and he had some good laughs watching them. The evening was spent eating and playing electronics. I wasn't going to push the bedtime because I knew it would be best if he was tired on the plane.
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| John and Molly |
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| These dogs kept licking him, so he kept his arm up just in case! |
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| Hanging with gong-gong (by the way, that is not a real Chinese word) My dad looked up grandfather in Chinese. Not sure what he looked at, but John cracked up laughing every time he said it. The name stuck. |
John went to bed at 9:00 (which is 10:00 our time) and went right to sleep. We had to wake up at 2:45 in order to leave by 3:15 and make it to the airport by 4:00 in the morning. I thought to myself, "FINALLY! A morning where I will have to wake up John, and he won't wake me up!" So silly of me to even think such a thing. At 1:45 in the morning (yes, you read that correctly...) John came to my room and said, "hello, mommy!" Agghhhhhh!!!! Even the days he had to wake up early, he found a way to make it earlier! I told him to go back to bed, and he tried. Then a few minutes later he came back and said he needed water. So I got him water and put him back to bed. Then a few minutes later he came and got in bed with me. Then a few minutes after that he asked for the iPad... you get the picture, homeboy couldn't sleep. When my alarm went off at 2:45, he said, "OK, mommy let's go!" I think he was ready to see his friends and get going with all of the travel.
We made it safely to the airport and met up with the group. I was stressing about John's luggage. We were told 1 backpack and I just couldn't do it. He had a backpack and a rolling carry-on suitcase. He is 11, and big enough to manage it, and I couldn't make him pick what he wanted to go and what he wanted to stay. It all ended up being OK.
We sat together for about 30 minutes while the chaperone got the tickets. Then it was time for good-bye. I started crying instantly. I was going to miss him, but it was even more than that. Just looking at the 5 kids in the Nashville group. 3 of the boys had families that were pursuing adoption. The girls did not. It just really upset me that those precious little girls could potentially grow up in the orphanage, and this might be their only taste of a family life. To hear the families yell out, "I love you!!!!" over and over again to those girls just tore me up. Goodness, I hope they know how loved they are. To watch John walk away felt so weird. So thankful that his future will hold a family. So thankful he was old enough to understand what was going on. Just like that, they were gone!
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| Our group at 4:00 am! 3 of the 5 children have interested families. That is amazing! |
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| Walking away... this made me tear up all over again |
The agency likes us to stay until the flight takes off, just in case there are delays or something else happens with the kids. It took the kids a very long time to get through the ticket line and security, and then we saw them running down the terminal for the gate. Our volunteer that was them said they got on the plane with 43 seconds to spare! There were 13 passengers behind them that did not make the flight. That was a close one! Thank you, Lord, for getting them on that plane!
We got word later in the afternoon that the kids made it to LA, and then made it on their International flight to Beijing.
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| One thing that stood out to me in this picture, was John's smile. In the arrival pictures, he was never smiling. Here are the LA kids ready to head toward Beijing. |
So, that's the end, my friends! In some ways the last month flew by and in some ways I thought it would never end. I was tired, and that seemed to be the theme of many of the host families. But just to know that the future of these children will be drastically different by saying YES to hosting, makes it all worth it. Our lives will be changed forever by knowing John. I will never be able to look at a map of China, and not think of him. I will never be able to look at minecraft (or TNT) without hearing his giggle. I will never look at our Lego sets the same, without seeing his sweet smile. Without hosting, John would likely not have been adopted. He's too old... and a boy. The reality is that his story might not have been heard, and I am thankful that God used our family to shout his story to our community! Many of you were touched by John's story and it is my sincere hope that you will do something with that. Please consider hosting, because it works. My next goal is to get 5 or 6 families in the Louisville area to host next year. That would be 5 or 6 more children that would have a chance of life outside of the orphanage.
I love this verse from the Fight Song by Rachel Platten:
Like a small boat
On the ocean
Sending big waves
Into motion
Like how a single word
Can make a heart open
I might only have one match
But I can make an explosion
Yes! We are just small boats on the ocean, but you can never underestimate what God can do with you. He can take your small act of obedience, and send big waves into motion! Through YOU, he can find a family for an aging out orphan. Through YOU he can inspire other people to adopt or host, and that ripple effect could go on forever. So, please my friends... use that one match that you have been given to cause an explosion. It will be worth it, I promise!
Please read these articles to learn more about the adoption of boys, and what it means to age out. Read here and here.
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